Description
Book SynopsisThis collection provides an in-depth look at musical criticism between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century. British music between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century reflected changes and developments in society, education, philosophy, aesthetics, politics and the upheaval of wars, often signifying a distinctively British national history. All of these changes informed the published work of contemporary music critics. This collection provides an in-depth look at musical criticism during this period. It focusses on major figures such as Grove,Parry, Shaw, Dent, Newman, Heseltine, Vaughan Williams, Dyson, Lambert and Keller, yet does not neglect less influential but nevertheless significant critics. Sometimes a seminal work forms the subject of investigation; in otherchapters, a writer's particular stance is highlighted. Further contributions closely analyse the now famous polemics by Shaw, Heseltine and Lambert. The book covers a range of themes from the historical, scientific and philosophical to matters of repertoire, taste, interdisciplinary influence, musical democratisation and analysis. It will be of interest to scholars and students of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British music and music in Britain as well as to music enthusiasts attracted to standard works of popular music criticism. JEREMY DIBBLE is Professor of Music at Durham University. JULIAN HORTON is Professor of Music at Durham University. Contributors: KAREN ARRANDALE, SEAMAS DE BARRA, PHILIP ROSS BULLOCK, JONATHAN CLINCH, SARAH COLLINS, JEREMY DIBBLE, JULIAN HORTON, PETER HORTON, CHRISTOPHER MARK, AIDAN J. THOMSON, PAUL WATT, HARRY WHITE, BENNETT ZON, PATRICKZUK
Trade Review[A] welcome addition to the growing literature on the writers who sought in one way or another to shape public opinion during an extraordinary period in the evolution of the role of music in British life, marked by radical transformations in musical culture both at home and abroad. . . . [A] major and timely contribution to the field of British music studies. -- Alain Frogley * NABMSA REVIEWS *
A well thought-out publication and a substantial contribution to an as yet under-represented area of British music studies. * BRIO *
Will be primarily of interest to scholars who wish to gain a quick overview of a particular figure's work. * THE JOURNAL OF MUSIC *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Trends in British Musical Thought, 1850-1950 - Jeremy Dibble and Julian Horton Avoiding 'Coarse Invective' and 'Unseemly Vehemence': English Music Criticism, 1850-1870 - Peter Horton Spencer, Sympathy and the Oxford School of Music Criticism - Bennett Zon Free Thought and the Musician: Ernest Walker, the 'English Hanslick' - Jeremy Dibble Ernest Newman and the Promise of Method in Biography, Criticism and History - Paul Watt 'Making Symphony Articulate': Bernard Shaw's Sense of Music History - Harry White Analysis and Value Judgment: Schumann, Bruckner and Tovey's Essays in Musical Analysis - Julian Horton The Scholar as Critic: Edward J. Dent - Karen Arrandale Russia and Eastern Europe - Philip Ross Bullock Anti-Intellectualism and the Rhetoric of 'National Character' in Music: The Vulgarity of Over-Refinement - Sarah Collins Chosen Causes: Writings on Music by Bernard van Dieren, Peter Warlock and Cecil Gray - Séamas de Barra 'Es klang so alt und war doch so neu': Vaughan Williams, Aesthetics and History - Aidan J. Thomson Constant Lambert: A Critic for Today? A Commentary on Music Ho! - Christopher Mark The Challenge to Goodwill: Herbert Howells, Alban Berg and 'The Modern Problem' - Jonathan Clinch Hans Keller: The Making of an 'Anti-Critic' - Select Bibliography
